What should I expect from a 'Heights Team'?

[Tony Ellis]

Hi,
so, a very pleasant Sky engineer comes around, says he can't fit a dish on our (fifth storey) roof due to Sky's stringent health and safety regulations, but books us a 'Heights Team' who can do it.

So next week our 'Heights Team' turns up and it's *one* sullen bloke who refuses to go near our roof, again for H&S reasons. (So why did the Sky engineer think it would be OK?)

Sky phone me to say "OK, forget it, this sullen bloke says we can't fit Sky for you."

My girlfriend phones them back and somehow manages to get us another Heights Team coming around next week. This time it's *two* people.

So, some help here from anybody in the know, please:
1) Was this one sullen bloke actually a Heights Team, or did someone screw up and just book us a sub-contractor?

2) Since we now have two blokes coming around, which sounds slightly more like a team, do I have any reason to feel more hopeful this time?

Thanks for any experience/advice/opinions.

[AndyCob]

Not sure how helpful I can be except to say I had virtually the same experience and I solved it by going to an independant.

Actually slightly worse in a way, I needed a dish fitted out on a balcony about 8ft up the wall on a non standard bracket looking over the flat roof of my flat. Perfectly big balcony below something like 12ft by 10ft but first sky engineer to turn up didn't bring a ladder and gave the same speech about health and safety, the baclony is part of the top story of a four story building so regs require a high heights team. So despite there being no real difference to putting a dish 8ft up a wall from the ground he left with out doing the install. I was very irritated especially as I had preempted the situation when booking the install explaining the nature of the install and that a ladder would be needed and a non standard bracket for the dish and actually had a months wait for the install on that basis.

Anyway had a rebooked installation with a 'special heights team' 3 months later. So I was fuming mad when another single engineer turned up without a ladder but I had made sure I had borrowed a suitable ladder but he said he couldn't use one that wasn't theirs, HS regs again and anyway they hadn't been told that the install needed a non-standard bracket so didn't have one on the van and left.

Five minutes later I had rung sky and cancelled everything, five minutes after that I had called my local independant installer who was at my flat an hour later and 20 mnutes after that my satellite was installed.

Ok it probably cost my 30 quid extra on the install but some of the time skys people are just such muppets. I think part of it is they just get paid a fixed rate for an install so somethimes decide it just isn't worht the effort.

[Clatter]

Sounds to me like someone cocked up, special heights teams should always be a pair. Had to have them for my install, and they were fine, one on the roof doing the dish, the other held the ladder and set the box up.

If you have 2 coming next time, I'd say you can be more confident of getting the install done.

[daspeedz]

I had nothing but problems with sky outsourcing to these suposed special hights teams. Three visits and a mess around so I cancelled sky and have freeview, will not go back to sky after what happened.

1st visit (lets call him Jim. on his own):- "I CAN fit the dish mate no problem but its dark so i cant do it". (fair enough safety and all that)

2nd visit (a new guy on his own, lets call him Bob):- "nah mate cant fit it get a letter off the estate agent, I'll keep the job active and come round when you give me a bell"

Fine i got the letter and rang him "ok mate be round tomorrow"
the next day "sorry mate be round tomorrow, I can do it no probs"
the next day "yeah be round friday mate no worries"
Saturday called sky, this knobhead had cancelled the job a week ago with no intention of coming. So booked thru sky another visit as well as complaining about the lazy roustabout(s).

So a week later this happens

One guy turns up; oh look its Jim again who said before " I CAN fit the dish no problem"
This time Jim says "nah mate CAN'T fit the dish, I dont carry ladders high enough"

So off he trots and I cancel thru sky even with the offers of free sky+ and cheaper HD.

If your in the Oxford/Swindon/reading area your outsourced special heights team wear stetsons and spurs.........beware.

[mad_angler1]

The current height team should consist of two people although it is not always the case, people are under the impression that a heights team can do anything that is necessary to install, this is incorrect, the main difference between a heights team is a normal engineer carries a 12 run ladder and heights carry 14 run ladder, that’s it, what you find is most normal engineers wont do roof installation because they don’t get allocated enough time to do it on a standard install so these get passed to heights these days as well, if you live in anything other than a standard 2 storied property heights are not going to be able to do anything more than a standard engineer.

Anything other than a standard house will require you to go to an independent, I see this all the time, the main problem is not the fact they cant do it it’s the lying, engineers need to start telling people from the beginning sorry sky wont do this you need to go to an independent, rather than passing it to heights and them messing you about.

[ba' heid]

Not much, is the short answer.

Tutting, teeth sucking and head shaking then a call to head office to cancel.

[daspeedz]

Being so messed around by this lot of outsourced monkeys and then sky themselves has put me off sky altogether. My mrs is insisting on us getting it when we move next week but after all my troubles I will only consider if they give me a free HD box! which I cant see happening

When your promised a manager call back and dont get it, and then find that no notes of that nature were placed on your account and no one knows anything about it, it really puts you off disgraceful

[AndyCob]

Originally Posted by AndyCob

Not sure how helpful I can be except to say I had virtually the same experience and I solved it by going to an independant.

Actually slightly worse in a way, I needed a dish fitted out on a balcony about 8ft up the wall on a non standard bracket looking over the flat roof of my flat. Perfectly big balcony below something like 12ft by 10ft but first sky engineer to turn up didn't bring a ladder and gave the same speech about health and safety, the baclony is part of the top story of a four story building so regs require a high heights team. So despite there being no real difference to putting a dish 8ft up a wall from the ground he left with out doing the install. I was very irritated especially as I had preempted the situation when booking the install explaining the nature of the install and that a ladder would be needed and a non standard bracket for the dish and actually had a months wait for the install on that basis.

Anyway had a rebooked installation with a 'special heights team' 3 months later. So I was fuming mad when another single engineer turned up without a ladder but I had made sure I had borrowed a suitable ladder but he said he couldn't use one that wasn't theirs, HS regs again and anyway they hadn't been told that the install needed a non-standard bracket so didn't have one on the van and left.

Five minutes later I had rung sky and cancelled everything, five minutes after that I had called my local independant installer who was at my flat an hour later and 20 mnutes after that my satellite was installed.

Ok it probably cost my 30 quid extra on the install but some of the time skys people are just such muppets. I think part of it is they just get paid a fixed rate for an install so somethimes decide it just isn't worht the effort.

I wouldn't have minded quite so much if it had been a couple of standard engineer visits a week apart but the fact that I had specificly pre-empted the situation and recieved assurances that the necessary bracketing and ladder capable installers would be coming, hence the month and then again 3 months wait. To have two totally useless engineer visits from single men without a ladder, the first did actually have the necessary bracket but the so called 'special heights team' was one guy without the bracket or a ladder when he showed up.

Of course how you share the blame between the installer and the person at sky taking your order who says 'yes special requirements noted etc' but is possibly just lying and booking a standard install is unknowable.

If you want it done right call an independent but realise you will pay their asking price for the install which may be considerably more than skys. I finally accepted it grudeingly as simply the only way it was going to get done. Plus it was done and done correctly within an hour and a half of me calling versus sky's 4 months of total F@@K ups.

anyway thats enough of my venting my rage.

[daspeedz]

Originally Posted by AndyCob

anyway thats enough of my venting my rage.

Yeah I'll follow you and leave it be too

[Chris4Koi]

I had to go down the independent route as mine is installed on my end wall above the garage which has a sloping roof (shock horror)....

The so called sky engineer was not willing (capable) of putting a ladder up on a sloped roof....
I know there are H&S rules and yes, they did need to get better to prevent accidents.... but its the lack of skill or just common sense that when doing this type of job you will encounter difficult problems... but being prepared with the right tools for the job surely is the best safety policy... right job... right tools....

Independent satellite installer... he had a ladder that has adjustable feet.... half an hour or so latter all was done to my specification, all the cables were fitted where you cannot readily see them, some going through the loft space.... so yes it cost me... but at least I know its been installed to a very good standard using good quality cables and is a neat professional job.... as you should expect if you paying for a service.... after all, arn't we the customer?...

Sorry about the rave.. ...... but just had to get that one off my chest....

[foneman]

Tutting, teeth sucking and head shaking

Yes, this normally means...

oh no, its going to be too expensive, too long, too dangerous for my insurance, too risky for sky to get a bad reputation with the union, they wont pay my hospital fees, they havent got the right equipment, too bogged down in red tape.... no-one tells us what is needed, 'just get on site', I'm not paid enough for this hassle, I've got 10 other jobs I have to do, just so I fill my daily quota......

seem familiar??? especially the 'no commication' part..

the independant guys, of course are paid well, due to customers actually paying good money for it!!
they have years of experience, confident that they will not be messed about by by a company that thinks only ££££...

a bit like NHS VS Private...

[Paul_HDLover]

Get an independent fitter, they will defo do the job, you wont have to take unnecessary days of work or even speak to sky.

I live on 3rd floor and new the special heights team would cock it up so didnt even bother going through sky.

[Tony Ellis]

Dear me, such a wide range of different experiences... not.

Sounds like I'm doomed then. I was only going ahead with this because installation was free; I'm pretty sure I can't afford an independent.

Thanks for your input everyone!

[foneman]

I'll put it this way, how will it cost you, both in time and money to get SKY to install it???

If they somehow manage to do it, will you find out 6 months later a problem with this install?? - they will want more money for this (I dont know if they have changed this, but last time I tried, they would not say *anything* before I paid the 'home visit' charge..) and even if they come out as a 'bad previous install' they may even put down that it was not, and still charge!

So I still say, pay the money for an independant, make sure you get a guarantee from them, and if something goes wrong in the future, I know most would check for free, as a matter of personal pride in their work....